Papini, who went missing on November 2, claims two Hispanic women forced her into a car at gunpoint.

Three weeks later, she was found “branded” and alive more than 200km from Redding home.

Former FBI special agent Brad Garrett speculated that the marking would be just another way for her captors to change her identity.

“The branding is so she will become part of their group; they want to eliminate her past. They cut her hair, they simply starved her, they beat her, maybe torture, etc. And it’s to make her part of whatever they are,” Mr Garrett said on Good Morning America.